American Romanticism

1. American Romanticism We will walk with our own feet we will work with our own hands we will speak our own minds -Ralph Waldo Emerson

2. Once upon a Time • There was this thing called exploration literature. • It expressed a desire for the adventures and freedoms (and monies) of the New World. • Then, there was this thing called colonial literature. • It expressed a desire to work hard, escape persecution, and practice whatever religion we wanted. • Then, there was this thing called Revolutionary literature. • It too place during The Enlightenment (or the Age of Reason). • This was a dark and boring time when people enjoyed many intellectual endeavors • Above all, logic and rational thinking were prized…and these things were used to create a brand new kind of country.

3. This is not to say… • That many glorious ideas did not stem from these previous periods • For example: the people must consent to be governed • The people have the right to overthrow unjust leaders • Deductive Reasoning: Cogito Ergo Sum • The Scientific Method • It was acceptable to question religion and government • Religious freedom • Right to protest • Universal education • American/Puritan work ethic (lazy as some of us may be, we are in fact one of the hardest working countries in the world)

4. In other words, • Building a country leaves very little time for fancy literature… • Thus, you have said English III was too much like US History • The reason is: • The explorers, colonists, and revolutionaries who created this country were too preoccupied with other things to write novels, poems, and stories. • Also, the most valued genres of writing were not fiction…because fiction was still a relatively new invention.

5. But then people started thinking about all this thinking… • And so the Era of Romanticism was born.

6. Because of the Enlightenment, we became a nation. • But because of Romanticism, we developed an national identity.

7. Characteristics of American Romanticism Values feeling and intuition over reason. Place faith in inner experience and the power of imagination. Shuns the artificiality of civilization and seeks unspoiled nature. Prefers youthful innocence to educated sophistication. Champions individual freedom and the worth of the individual.

8. Reflects on nature’s beauty as a path to spiritual and moral development. • Looks backward to the wisdom of the past and distrusts progress. • Finds beauty and truth in exotic locales, the supernatural realm and the inner world of the imagination. • Sees poetry as the highest expression of imagination. • Finds inspiration in myth, legend, and folklore.

9. So what does all this beautiful old school hippie thinking lead to? • Our modern conception of Civil Rights! • Our modern conception of hero • Twilight, Harry Potter, Stephen King, the trashy romance novel, the modern horror movie, 2/3 of all modern poetry, and The Invention of Moderately Decent Fiction

10. We break Romantics into 3 Groups • The Early Romantics • Fireside poets • Irving • Early novelists • The Transcendentalists • Emerson • Thoreau • The Gothics • Poe • Hawthorne • Melville

11. James Fenimore Cooper • Considered to have invented our concept of the American hero • Natty Bumpo (The Leatherstocking Tales) • Expelled from Yale for playing pranks on his teachers • Wrote the first American novel • Most famous for The Last of the Mohicans

12. This is when we quit imitating England

13. In the Beginning • William Cullen Bryant • “Thanatopsis” established romanticism as a major force of literature in America • “Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again” • One of the founders of the Republican party

14. “Thanatopsis” • Has a sing-songy rhythm due to: • Blank verse--Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter • Enjambment: one line ends without pause and continues into the next line to complete the meaning

15. The Fireside Poets • A group of poets from New England (Massachusetts and north) • They wrote uplifting poetry • They got their name from the fact that families would sit around the fire in the evening to read their work • Maintained traditional British styles blended with American settings • Interested in social reform and the common man

16. The Fireside Poets • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • Best known, known as the father of American poetry • James Russell Lowell • Oliver Wendell Holmes • John Greenleaf Whittier

17. Breakaway • Read and evaluate your assigned poem. • Write down four features of Romanticism in your poem. • (“The Tide Rises”; “The Chambered Nautilus” “Old Ironsides” Snowbound; “The First Snowfall”

18. For each of the poems, fill in the chart

19. Fireside Poetry

20. In the Beginning • Washington Irving • Maybe you don’t know the name…but you know his most infamous character • Has been called the father of American fiction • One of the first authors to test out the short story • The first American author to be famous in Europe

21. Best-known for his short stories and caricatures that celebrate America’s past. • His characters are humorously drawn stereotypes that represent American traits. • Stories set in quant American villages (generally in New York’s Hudson River area). • His plots convey conventional morals.

22. SATIRE  • A literary device in which people, customs, or institutions are mocked (shamelessly) in hopes to improve society • Satire hall of fame: Chaucer, Bierce, The creators of South Park, Washington Irving • Satire is usually rather subtle

23. For example: • “Though a female scold is generally considered to be a match for the devil, yet in this instance she appears to have had the worst of it…” • What does this mean? • Who is being satirized?

24. Quick Write: • Create 1-2 sentences in which you satirize one of the following: • Teachers • Teenagers • Your parents

25. Imagery • Irving also does imagery really really well in order to: • Characterize • Create mood • Develop setting

26. Example • There lived near this place a meager, miserly fellow, of the name Tom Walker. He had a wife as miserly as himself…they lived in a forlorn-looking house that stood alone and had an air of starvation • How does this image characterize Tom and his wife? • What mood does it set?

27. “The Devil and Tom Walker” • Complete “Vocabulary in Context” pg • Read pg. Draw a picture of this place being described. Write one example of imagery below your picture. • Read lines 16-37. How are Tom and his wife characterized? How does their house reflect them?

28. “The Devil and Tom Walker” • How does Irving build suspense in lines 38-77? What images in the passage create this mood? • How does Irving describe the Devil?

29. How well does the painter interpret the story?

30. What example of satire is located in lines 115-118? • What can you infer about the Devil’s conditions in line 133-34? • What are the consequences of making a deal with the devil? • Reread lines 137-143. Explain the two symbols used in the passage.

31. What is the one condition which need not be mentioned? • How does Irving satirize usurers? Pg • Read lines 276-296. How do the following passages relate? • And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. • Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

32. How does Tom change over the course of the story? • How does Tom try to cheat the Devil? • What happens to Tom and his money? • What is the theme of the story?

33. Devil Quiz • What do people say about the swamp where this story takes place? • Describe the relationship between Tom and his wife. • Where does Tom rest as he’s walking home? • What does the fingerprint on Tom’s forehead represent? • What does the Devil first suggest Tom do with the treasure? • What does Tom actually do with the money? • How is Tom a hypocritical Christian? • Why does Tom become more religious as he gets older? • What happens to Tom and his money? • What are three characteristics of Romanticism that you find in the story? Give examples from the story that show those characterisitics.

34. Enlightenment through Tree Hugging • What does it mean to transcend? • Transcendentalism: a philosophical movement that emphasized asceticism and a celebration of nature and personal emotion/imagination • Look to Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau

35. The Laws of Transcendentalism • Think for yourself. Be self-reliant. Do not simply do something because gov’t or religion says to • Listen to your own inner voice. • Nature (physical world)+ Spirit (spiritual world)=universe • Every individual should be respected because everyone has a small piece of the Oversoul (God) • Communion with nature helps us understand the Spirit in all things • All ideas originate in nature • Humans have spirit…thus humans are divine • Humans are basically good because we are part of the Divine

36. Ralph Waldo Emerson • The leader of Transcendentalism • Entered Harvard at 14 • Graduated and then re-entered in order to become a minister • Wife died spiritual crisis ensued resigned as a minister and began questioning everything he had ever known about Christianity

37. Aphorisms • A brief statement (1 sentence) that expresses a principle or truth about life • AKA a motto • Ben Franklin’s: Honesty is the best policy • Emerson’s: Trust thyself • Create and decorate your own aphorism.

38. Self-Reliance • Complete vocabulary in context pg 361 • Read pg362-364 • Summarize the ideas in the first 2 paragraphs • Find three quotes to apply to any of the laws of Transcendentalism • Why does Emerson suggest it is so hard to be a nonconformist? • Answer 1, 4, 7, 8 on pg 367 • Complete vocabulary Practice (1-6) on pg 368

39. Henry David Thoreau • Major influence on environmentalists and civil rights leaders • Advocated simple living • Was once required to wear a black coat but wore a green one instead • 1845: conducted an experiment in which he lived in solitude in a small cabin on 27 cents a week ($31.25 today) • 1846: arrested and spent 1 night in jail for refusal to pay taxes (which was done in protest of the Mexican-American War)—civil disobedience

40. Civil Disobedience • Disobedience: failure or refusal to follow the rules or someone in authority • Examples: • Civil: relating to ordinary citizens; polite and courteous • Examples:

41. Watch the video • Write down in your notes what you consider civil disobedience to be. • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCjtgWQR5RM

42. Civil Disobedience • Citizens must follow their conscience • Good citizens fight government injustice in a peaceful manner • Civil disobedience is different from disobedience or refusal to obey • Must be a true moral cause • Resistance does not infringe on the rights of others

43. Civil Disobedience • Why does Thoreau quote from the Declaration of Independence? • What is meant by “undue respect for law” • How does the idea of civil disobedience relate to the laws of Transcendentalism? • Read lines 55-69. What things does Thoreau agree with? Disagree with? Do you agree with his assessment? • What effect does rhetorical questioning have on the essay? • “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” What would Thoreau say about this quote? • Answer 1-5 on pg 389.

44. React: Which things are Civil Disobedience? Explain. Which form is more meaningful

45. DPS Questions • Translate the phrase, Carpe Diem into English. Explain what you think it means to “Carpe Diem”. • Give three examples that show how the students learned to be their own individual person. • One potential theme of this movie, Dead Poets Society, would be that the primary force in change is often rejected by society and meets its downfall, but the ideals remain strong in the followers and continue to spread and be accepted by more. Give an example from the movie showing this theme and explain how it relates to the transcendentalist ideals. • Which of the main characters demonstrates transcendentalism traits the best? Explain • Which character DID NOT demonstrate the ideals of transcendentalism? Explain why.

46. Delving into the Depths of Darkness: American Gothic • Developed as a reaction to the Transcendentalists • Mankind is NOT innately good • Humans have a great capacity for evil • Explore psyche, motivation, inner working of the human mind • BUT agree on emphasis on emotion, nature, and the individual • Included elements of fantasy and the supernatural • Major peeps: Poe, Hawthorne, Melville

47. American Gothic Literature • Uses grotesque characters in bizarre situations with violent events • Spooky settings • Especially with Poe: first person narration of a protagonist who is evil or insane • Evil tends to come from the inside out

48. Best known for the novel Moby Dick Became insanely popular for early novels based on his experiences with cannibals Lost popularity with Moby Dick May or may not have had a serious crush on Hawthorne Descended from one of the Salem Witch Trial judges Wrote The Scarlet Letter because he felt guilty Herman Nathaniel Melville Hawthorne

49. Reading Excerpts • Group 1: Moby Dick pg 452-453. What does the white whale symbolize for Ahab? • Group 2: Moby Dick pg 452-453. Create a list of descriptions used for Moby Dick • Group 3: The Scarlet Letter pg 455. Create a T-chart that shows words the speakers use for Hester Prynne and words they use for themselves • Group 4: The Scarlet Letter pg 455. Would public shaming work today? Why or why not?

50. Story Writing • Write your own Gothic story. • Your story must incorporate all the characteristics of Gothic literature • Stories will be shared around the campfire 